I do love these reviews. A Few Things About Oblivion Oblivion started life as an idea of Joseph Kosinski's. Joseph Kosinski started his Hollywood life as one of David Fincher's acolytes, doing 2nd unit and the like and working with The Director's Bureau on commercials. He got his first bump with TR2N (is that what we're calling it) which, from Disney's point of view, wasn't terrible. Joseph Kosinski is well aware that spec screenplays don't sell worth a shit but also aware that he can't write. So he sort of scribbled down some ideas and gave them to people he paid to write them as a book with pictures in it which he never had any intention of selling. This impressed people enough that it sparked a bidding war and Oblivion sold as a movie without ever being a screenplay. So now it needed a screenplay. But movies don't work like that any more, at least, not at that scale. So while they were out hammering on the screenplay set designers and storyboardists and character designers and this whole army of people started working on Oblivion even though they didn't quite know what it was about yet. One of them was a buddy of mine, who told me "man, what we've seen so far ain't so good." Lo and behold, shortly before Christmas two years ago Disney told everyone to go home because the script was terrible and they were putting the whole project on hold. Fast forward 9 months and the project is back on. My buddy opted for Oblivion (because he knew the people, and because he knew they were serious because when they killed Nemo it stayed dead) over Ender's Game. He still wasn't sold on it, but it happened. I haven't seen it. I wasn't blown away by TR2N (which a number of my friends worked on, who advised me not to watch it) and I find any "story by committee" movie is invariably terrible. This is one reason why I work on tiny, shitty movies rather than reaching for the brass ring that is Hollywood - at least you get to do something. Incidentally: - Soundtrack: any songs used in a film that can be sold elsewhere (James Bond title songs like Adele's Skyfall) - Score: musical orchestrations hat exist solely for the film (like the James Bond theme) - Sound Effect: Any single clip connected diegetically to on-screen action - Sound Design: the craft of creating sound effects - Foley: footsteps, clothing rustle, etc. Example: "JTHipster praised the sound design of Oblivion but said nothing about the score by M83. For Friday, you have a multiple choice: A) Barbarella because you haven't gotten to it B) Zardoz because it's John Boorman's take on the Barbarella era and is fucking awesome C) Altered States because fuckin' Ken Russel directing Paddy Chayevsky's last script D) The Hunger because it's Tony Scott's first and it's in the same zone and it's got David Bowie and Bauhaus in it E) CQ because it's Roman Coppola's take on this vintage of cinema therefore it's doubly meta F) Logan's Run because c'mon. So long as we're on the 70's psychotronic tip, why not.
I'm really confused by Hollywood screenplay writing. Why do so many movies have shit scripts? Why couldn't they have paid a writer with a good track history? The writer's cost is a tiny fraction of the overall budget, yet it makes up a massive proportion of the impression on the viewer. Hell, aren't there enough starving writers in Hollywood that they could throw out a pitch and hire the best screenplay put forward among multiple independent writers? My close friend moved back down to LA this year to pursue a career of writing and directing movies. The impression I got from discussing it with him was that there are plenty of brilliant writers down there and it's a cut-throat world to make a living...yet I also feel that it's normally the shit that floats to the top.But movies don't work like that any more, at least, not at that scale. So while they were out hammering on the screenplay set designers and storyboardists and character designers and this whole army of people started working on Oblivion even though they didn't quite know what it was about yet. One of them was a buddy of mine, who told me "man, what we've seen so far ain't so good." Lo and behold, shortly before Christmas two years ago Disney told everyone to go home because the script was terrible and they were putting the whole project on hold.
So. Let's say you have a brilliant idea. Let's say you write the perfect script. Let's say everyone you've ever shown it to says it's perfect and needs no changes. Now let's say "is it so brilliant that it needs no changes before we spend one Hundred MILLION DOLLARS on it?" I'll bet you can find something to tweak. I'll bet everyone else can find something to tweak, too. In fact, I'll bet every person with any authority to tweak is going to tweak, just so they can continue to have the authority to tweak. So what you end up with is the story that managed to survive being tweaked by every single person who touched it. And oh, by the way, if you refuse to tweak, it's no longer your script. Screenwriters will literally rewrite lines that don't need rewriting because if they don't rewrite enough lines, they won't get credit. And if they don't get credit, they won't get residuals (money). Assistants will literally suggest changes that don't need to be changed because they want to remind their bosses that they have a 'fresh look." Studio heads will greenlight movies their predecessors killed and kill movies their predecessors green-lit just to prove they're studio heads. Take a script. Throw it on the ground in the middle of the parking lot. Now take out a megaphone and announce that everyone with a designated parking spot (and half the people in general parking) on the Warner Brothers lot are invited to come piss on it. Everything that hasn't washed away from being pissed on throughout the entire development process (and I AM LEGEND was in "development" from 1979 until 2007) is your script. There's your movie.I'm really confused by Hollywood screenplay writing. Why do so many movies have shit scripts?
Ah, so less bad starting script, more bad ending script. Makes sense, though you'd think someone would pay attention when the end result is continually shit. Or does it not really matter that much, in the final profits? Jebus, that makes it well older than me.and _I AM LEGEND_ was in "development" from 1979 until 2007
| Makes sense, though you'd think someone would pay attention when the end result is continually shit. Or does it not really matter that much, in the final profits?| Blade Runner and Porky's both came out in 1982. Blade Runner made $33m. Porky's made over $100m. Which one had a sequel? This is a fun toy. See for yourself.
And if you choose (F) may I wholeheartedly recommend a double feature? Logan's Run came out on June 23, 1976. It represents "before" in terms of Hollywood. Star Wars came out on May 25, 1977. It represents "after." These two movies were released less than a year apart. I think most people don't really understand how absolutely earth-shattering Star Wars truly was because they do not have a context for it - but Logan's Run provides it in an extremely decisive way. Watch Logan's Run, write it up, then watch Star Wars. It's a hell of a ride.
Update then. Sound design was acceptable. Score was great. Felt like Mass Effect. Also man if a director can't write for shit he shouldn't really even pay people to write it unless he's ready to kill his baby. Your friend may have made the right choice. Ender's Game is going to be a train wreck.
"Harry Potter in Space." I shit you not. "Yeah, guys, come work on this movie. It's pretty much gonna be Harry Potter in Space."
Oh my fucking god. No, its not one alien attack, its two, both of which did not, in fact, hit Earth. The first invasion was a primitive first encounter, the second invasion was stopped only my Major Rackham. I might have misspelled his name, haven't done my yearly reading yet. The kids aren't recruited to fight back, they're recruited to become part of the military. Battle School is a training grounds for Officers, and they train children from early ages because of how much of a threat the much larger, more technologically advanced alien civilization poses. Its not at all Quidditch, and its not at all a light saber battle. The Battle Room is a mostly empty room with boxes in it, where kids play what sort of amounts to a space lasertag that is much more complicated. The point of the battle room isn't to be action and its not to be competitive, its to teach the kids how to function as a team and how to select leaders. Its disguised as a game because children have a love of games and competition that's not tempered by age. Its not. Fucking. Quidditch. There isn't even a ball. No, he's actually been planned to be the genius all along. He was specifically genetically engineered to be a compromise between his very aggressive brother and his very passive and loving sister, and was viewed by some very high ups to be the last best hope for Earth. He was also never told he was going to destroy the alien race because why the fuck would you tell the kid he was going to commit xenocide?! Fuck. I'm going to have to review this. I'm going to hate every second of that goddamn movie.The storyline begins on Earth after an alien attack, when gifted children are recruited by a government desperate to fight back.
The kids are taught a competitive game that’s a cross between the Quidditch matches of Harry Potter and the Jedi light saber battles from Star Wars.
A young boy emerges as a genius strategist, and the planet’s best hope to destroy the alien Formic race.